


Class Pet

by London9Calling



Category: EXO (Band), 极限挑战 | Go Fighting! (TV)
Genre: Hybrids, M/M, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:13:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7822744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/London9Calling/pseuds/London9Calling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zhi Xiang, a third grade teacher, decides a class pet is the perfect way to liven up his classroom. He imagined the class pet to be a duckling or maybe a Guinea pig, what he gets is a rabbit hybrid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for reLAY fic fest summer 2016 round.

Finger paints. Alphabet blocks. Nap time. Cookies.

“How come they get to have all the fun?” Zhi Xiang, arms crossed and brow furrowed, stared into the kindergarten classroom, observing the teacher as he picked up after a day of handing out construction paper and dull scissors.

“We should have become kindergarten teachers,” Wang Xun muttered.

“Hmmm.” Zhi Xiang didn’t hate his job teaching third grade but sometimes - just sometimes - he wished he could have the type of fun that a kindergarten teacher had. His curriculum was less gluing construction paper together and more teaching math and English. Of course teaching older kids had benefits, like less potty accidents, but sometimes it had a downside too. Such as not being able to wow them with fairy tales or convince them that dinosaurs were cool.

“Can you guys please stop staring, it’s creepy,” Mr. Kim to his students, Minseok to the rest of the faculty, called out as he picked a wayward block off the floor.

 “I never pick blocks up of the floor,” Wang Xun mused, staring longingly at the kindergarten classroom.

Minseok let out a heavy sigh. He stalked towards the door and the admiring gaze of his fellow teachers. “If you are that upset about the lack of fun in your classes why don’t you ask Hong Lei if you can get a class pet or something.”

Zhi Xiang narrowed his eyes. “A.class.pet.”

Minseok nodded, looking at his two co-workers in frustration. “You know, older grades can have them too. It isn’t just kindergarten classes.”

A class pet. Zhi Xiang considered what that would mean. A rabbit, a duckling, maybe a hamster or Guinea pig hanging out in the classroom.

“Me first!” Zhi Xiang pushed Wang Xun out of the way as he darted for the principal’s office, knowing full well that the school would probably only let one of them get an animal. Honglei was never one to spend unbudgeted funds, even if it was a small amount for a class pet.

“Sometimes I wonder how either of you made it out of kindergarten.” Minseok retreated back into his classroom, shaking his head at the antics of his co-workers.

 

 

Zhi Xiang sat on the edge of the mauve colored chair, watching Honglei as he characteristically ignored him. The principal - a fifteen year veteran of the school - had a very rigid way of dealing with his staff. Follow the budget, keep up the test scores, and he wouldn’t attempt to demote you to janitor.

Zhi Xiang wasn’t even sure if the principal could demote someone to janitor, but the threat had been enough to make him put back a few extra things he wanted for the school year. Trying to convince him to spend unbudgeted funds on a class pet would not be an easy task.

“So you see, if we have a class pet there is a good chance that the students will not only learn greater responsibility but also have a real life biology lesson.”

The principal’s fingers skipped over the keys. “Not in the budget.” He didn’t bother to even look at the third grade teacher.

Zhi Xiang glared at Honglei, hoping he would see it. He didn’t.

“Is that new laptop of yours in the budget?” Zhi Xiang decided to take a more direct and confrontational approach.

“Yes.”

And his plan B failed as miserably as Plan A.

Zhi Xiang utilized Plan C, which was a very immature pout and some whining. Honglei, for all of his budgetary obsessions, was not impervious to a good case of whining.

“But Ge, think of the little adorable pet. You can stop by and pet it when you want. Geeeeeee.”

The principal stopped typing and glared over his computer screen. “I don’t like animals.”

“Why?”

“Someone once told me I look like a dog, ever since then…” The principal sighed.

“I don’t think you look like a dog! Plus we aren’t getting a dog. We will get a …” Zhi Xiang hadn’t actually thought of exactly what animal he would chose if he was allowed the perk of a class pet.

“Can’t trust you.” Honglei pursed his lips. “You can get a class pet on one condition. I get to pick it out, and you end up paying for it out of pocket.”

Zhi Xiang frowned. Out of pocket was not be something he wanted to do, a teacher’s salary was far from exorbitant. Yet the thought of winning the battle for a class pet, even halfway, was appealing. “Fine.”

“Deal. I’ll find something this weekend and take the price out of your next check.”

Zhi Xiang stuck his tongue out at Wang Xun the next time he encountered him in the teacher’s lounge. “Guess who is getting a class pet?”

“Someone who has to pay for it?” Wang Xun deadpanned, causing Zhi Xiang to rethink his little arrangement. Honglei was long gone, however when Zhi Xiang stumbled into his office that Friday afternoon to renegotiate more favorable terms.

“Hopefully he picks something cheap and cute,” Zhi Xiang muttered as he returned to his classroom on Friday afternoon.

After a long weekend spent with his friends, Zhi Xiang had almost forgotten about the class pet. Somewhere in the middle of fishing and catching up with is old college roommates he had let go of the anticipation for what Monday would bring. Which is why, when he arrived at school at his usual time, he was much more caught up in bemoaning the arrival of Monday than thinking of what would be waiting for him when he walked into his classroom.

He didn’t even bother to look around as he opened the door and made a beeline for his desk. It wasn’t like there would be anything different about the space he had occupied all school year. It wasn’t like--

“Hello.”

He froze with one hand on his briefcase and the other on the bottom drawer of his desk. He looked up slowly, wondering who would be at school this early.

“You must be the teacher.”

Zhi Xiang let out a bloodcurdling scream, so loud it echoed down the halls and caused Wang Xun and Minseok to come running. What they found when they burst into the classroom was not Zhi Xiang under duress - or at least not the type of duress they would have assumed.

“What in the hell are you?” He leapt back, jutting his arm out and pointing his finger in the...thing’s face.

The thing, a five foot eleven inch tall man, tilted his head to the side cutely and blinked. His ears, the long, white floppy ears of a rabbit twitched slightly, in tandem with his nose, which moved ever so side to side. He was dressed in a light blue t-shirt and jeans, white sneakers peeking out from the cuffs.

“My name is Yixing. I am the class pet,” the bunny-human thing announced, looking proud of the fact.

Wang Xun burst out laughing as Minseok mumbled something about it being unfortunate. When Honglei arrived on the scene seconds later he pushed through the pair, a wide smile on his face.

“What in the hell?” Zhi Xiang turned his glare towards the principal.

“You said you wanted a class pet, so I found one.” Honglei smiled angelically.

Zhi Xiang gritted his teeth. “But I meant a Guinea pig or a duck or...”

“You don’t like me?” The rabbit man frowned.

He found himself protesting that assessment immediately. There was something about the way the creature looked so forlorn about it he needed to correct himself stat. “No! I...you just…”

“I think he is cute.” Wang Xun entered the classroom and slowly approached the newcomer.

“You bought a hybrid,” Zhi Xiang hissed, slumping down in his seat as he shot the principal a death look.

Honglei shrugged. “Yeah. What is better than a class pet that can talk?” He winked.

“You know what is wrong with it!” He balled his hands into fists and tried to suppress his frustration. Honglei was well aware of why hybrids were controversial. He chanced a look over at the hybrid to see that Wang Xun was petting the creature’s ears, the hybrid smiling shyly in return.

Hybrids. Ever since they hit the market decades ago they had become something of a perverted novelty. The first few years of their existence they were the standard household pet, but that all changed when people started exploiting them sexually. For the last thirty years hybrids were equated with such uses – perversions of mankind, quite literally. Though he knew there were some hybrids that were still kept as pets, they were all looked down upon.  Zhi Xiang could already imagine what the parents of his students would say having one in the classroom.

The Principal walked over to Zhi Xiang’s desk. He perched on the edge, staring down at the third grade teacher. “What is wrong with having him as a pet? He is from a reputable breeder.”

Zhi Xiang lowered his hands and glared up at the Principal. “You know very well why this is going to be controversial.”

Honglei shrugged. “Let them complain. He wasn’t bred for that. He is a companion bunny, very good natured, patient, and from what I can tell adorable.”

“If they complain I am sending them to you!” Zhi Xiang huffed.

“Fine.” Honglei flashed a smirk. Zhi Xiang was convinced that the reason the principal had picked this pet was in large part to rile him up (and maybe get him back for his whining session). “Now enjoy your class pet.”

Zhi Xiang sighed. It was going to be a long, long day.

 

 

 

“What is that?”

Zhi Xiang held one of the slides for the overhead projector in his hand, the flimsy and translucent sheet showing the math assignment for that afternoon.

It had been a half an hour since Honglei had left, laughing as he strolled from the classroom. Wang Xun had finally gone after Zhi Xiang all but pushed him away. What had commenced was twenty awkward minutes of Yixing, the rabbit hybrid, watching Zhi Xiang get ready for the day’s classes with a twitching nose and wide eyes. He had remained quiet, observing as he stood in the middle of the classroom. It was unnerving, but Zhi Xiang didn’t feel like talking at the moment. Not when he was still reeling over what a precarious situation Honglei had put him into.

“Math.” Zhi Xiang smiled, sounding out the word slowly. “Do you know what math is?” Probably not. Why would a rabbit hybrid know about math?

“Yes. I love math!” Yixing approached and Zhi Xiang couldn’t help but notice that his gait, though still that of a human, had a bounce to it. The slightest difference that must come from the animal part of him.

“You love math?” Zhi Xiang asked dumbly, placing the sheet next to the projector and wheeling it towards the corner of the classroom for safe keeping.

Yixing nodded enthusiastically. “I am not that good at it, but I love it.”

Zhi Xiang quirked an eyebrow at the excited bunny. “When did you learn math?” As far as he knew hybrids were not given an education, in fact it was rather counter intuitive given what most of them were bred for.

“My breeder gave us all a chance to learn, as long as we wanted to.” Yixing followed the teacher as he walked to the back of the classroom. “So when will the students get here? Are they nice? Have they ever met a hybrid before?”

“In about five minutes, sometimes, and probably not.” Zhi Xiang let the hopping human follow him as he made final preparation for the day. He was too busy trying to figure out how to introduce him to the class to care that he was looking over his shoulder.

When the first student entered the room they paused near the doorway and stared, their nine-year-old brains trying to digest what they were seeing.

“Mr. Zhi is that…” The boy pointed at Yixing, who apparently was quite shy. The rabbit absconded to a corner near Zhi Xiang’s desk and bashfully peeked between his fingers at the student.

“Well good morning to you too,” the teacher joked. “It is a new addition to our classroom. I will introduce him when class starts.”

Each time a student arrived it was a very similar situation. They gawked, asked questions and Yixing hung back like he was afraid. Zhi Xiang ignored the bunny as he went through his lesson plan, mentally taking attendance as each child walked through the door. Once everyone had arrived - all thirty of his pupils - he readied himself to introduce their class pet.

The morning bell rang, that shrill noise that Zhi Xiang paid no mind to as long as his class was behaving and everyone was on time. After the bell he stood at the front of the room. “Class, I would like you to meet our class pet, Yixing.”

Zhi Xiang turned to gesture for the bunny hybrid to introduce himself but stilled when he saw that the rabbit was frozen on the spot, not moving as his eyes darted back and forth. Zhi Xiang gestured for him to walk forward but he remained frozen on the spot.

“Teacher, is he real?” One of the students asked as the hybrid remained motionless.

It occurred to Zhi Xiang, probably too late, that Yixing was in fact acting like a rabbit. Like the hundreds of other rabbits he had seen in the park near his house, frozen stiff when they were afraid. He slowly approached the hybrid his hands held out in front of him, a gesture to indicate he meant no harm.

“Yixing, I am not sure why you are frightened but-”

Suddenly the hybrid darted towards the door, half running half bouncing in a zigzag pattern. He was out of the classroom and into the hall before Zhi Xiang could digest what had just happened. He gave chase a moment later, catching up with Yixing as he hopped towards the exit door.

“Stop!” The third grade teacher yelled, grabbing onto Yixing’s t-shirt to hold him in place.

Yixing froze yet again. “That noise, what was that noise?”

It took him a moment to realize that Yixing was referring to the morning bell. “It signals class has started.” He kept his hand securely on the collar of Yixing’s t-shirt, holding him in place in case he tried to run again. “It won’t hurt you.”

“Oh.” The rabbit hybrid looked sheepish.

“Now come on, there are thirty nine-year-olds that want to know your name.” He loosened his grip, letting the soft fabric slide through his fingers. Yixing seemed to instantly relax, going so far as to walk a few paces ahead of the teacher.

When they returned to the classroom they found a couple dozen pairs of concerned eyes staring at the hybrid. Zhi Xiang put his arm around the hybrid’s shoulder and steered him towards the front of the class. “Children, this is Yixing, the new class pet. He will be here not as a distraction but as a bonus for studying and working hard. You can talk to him on scheduled break times, but otherwise I expect you all to be paying attention in class.”

He could feel the rabbit tense. Had he made it sound like he didn’t like him again, hadn’t he?

“Hello, everyone.” Yixing waved slowly. “Please don’t get distracted or I will get in trouble and I hate to be in trouble.”

There were a few snickers from the students but a good majority of them nodded in all seriousness.

“Now Yixing is going to sit here for now.” Zhi Xiang scooted his chair towards the corner of the room and gestured for the hybrid to come over. “During first break we can get to know him better.”

Yixing took the offered seat, scooting as far into the corner as he could. He lifted his legs onto the seat and crossed them, sitting in an almost meditative pose as he watched Zhi Xiang.

The teacher began that morning’s lesson, but he could tell that the the children were distracted. They kept glancing towards the corner, which defeated Zhi Xiang’s brilliant idea to keep the hybrid away from the students during class. Moving Yixing feet from the desks as opposed to sitting amidst the students only gave the children something to look at other than what was on the chalkboard

When first break rolled around everyone clambered up to the hybrid, questions being shouted left and right. Yixing looked overwhelmed, shrinking back as the children approached.

Zhi Xiang finally had to rescue him, telling the children to stand in a line and ask one at a time. Yixing thanked Zhi Xiang profusely for his intervention, going so far as to tell him he could touch his ear.

Zhi Xiang politely declined.

The afternoon dragged on as well, everyone obsessing over the cute rabbit hybrid while the math lesson fell on deaf ears. Notes were passed and more than once Zhi Xiang had to separate children who were talking during their lesson.

By the end of the day, Zhi Xiang decided having a class pet was not a perk by any means. At least not one that was so...unlike what he had envisioned.

 

 

“And he didn’t even have lunch. I had to feed him part of mine!” Zhi Xiang whined, letting his head fall onto the table in the teacher’s lounge. The school day was over and as soon as all of the students were gone he made a dash for the lounge, needing to vent. He had left Yixing alone to do...whatever a hybrid did at 3PM.

“You poor thing, there there.” Wang Xun patted him on the back. “It isn’t like you weren't bragging about this last week.”

“I didn’t know that psycho principal would pick a hybrid!” It was all Honglei’s fault. If the pet had been anything less…...hybrid he wouldn't be having so many issues.

“Right.” Wang Xun was the least sympathetic person Zhi Xiang had ever dared to whine to, which he knew from experience but not from practice.

“And tomorrow I am sure the yelling is going to start. Think how many calls I am going to get tonight from concerned parents! Like Honglei will really be the one addressing all the complaints.” He thumped his forehead on the table a couple of times to emphasize his frustration.

“Is there anything for them to actually be concerned about?” Minseok entered the lounge, his constant companion - a lime green coffee mug - in hand.

Zhi Xiang narrowed his eyes at the kindergarten teacher. “You know, if it wasn’t for you and all the fun you have-” At this point he wasn’t beyond blaming anyone and everyone, too stressed to remember he was the one who had begged for the pet.

“Well, is there anything for them to be concerned with?” Wang Xun seemed to side with the newcomer, going insofar as to cut Zhi Xiang off mid whine.

“He is a hybrid!” Zhi Xiang looked at his fellow teachers, wondering how they could be so dense.

“Yeah, but he hasn’t done anything wrong. Just because he is a hybrid doesn’t mean people should be concerned.” Minsek shrugged. “And since he is your class pet and he hasn’t done anything wrong, I would expect that you would want to relay that message to the parents of your students.”

“You would think,” Zhi Xiang sighed.

“So do you have a bed ready for him or is that something you are going to have to do when you get home?” Wang Xun took the seat across from Zhi Xiang.

“B-bed?” He annunciated the word like he had never heard it before.

“Sure. You can’t leave him here. He is practically human after all - or, well, almost. Half?” Wang Xun looked to Minseok, who shrugged. “Anyway he can’t stay in a dark school all night.”

“I agree, that wouldn’t work,” Minseok chimed in.

When Zhi Xiang had asked for a class pet he had thought of a small little animal he would feed before leaving for the day. Something that could stay overnight in the classroom and only maybe come home with him on weekends. A fun little pet for the students to laugh over, something for Zhi Xiang to play with before classes started - a happy tiny little mascot that needed little care. Definitely not something that required a full size bed plus three square meals a day. Zhi Xiang’s already meager paycheck was disappearing in his mind as they spoke.

“If you need extra blankets I can ask my wife if we have any,” Wang Xun offered.

“Thanks,” Zhi Xiang muttered, feeling utterly deflated and totally lost.

 

  
“I am um, parked over here.” Zhi Xiang gestured towards his thirteen-year-old minivan, a very unstylish car for someone his age but a completely affordable one given his financial means. Yixing walked beside him. The hybrid had seemed perplexed at the offer to follow Zhi Xiang home.

“You mean you don’t live here?” Yixing had asked, his nose twitching as he looked around the classroom.

“No, thank god.” Zhi Xiang didn’t think he could handle living at his job.

“Look, my apartment isn’t big so I only have one bedroom. You will need to sleep on the couch, or floor, or however you um - whatever is more comfortable.” Zhi Xiang pushed the button on his keys, the lights on his minivan blinking as the doors unlocked. “This is probably temporary so don’t get too attached to the place. Oh and what do you um, how - do you eat?”

“I eat very well, thank you.” Yixing smiled, then averted his eyes as soon as he had made eye contact with the teacher. He was definitely a shy creature, Zhi Xiang realized.

“No, I mean what do you eat. What type of food.”

“Oh, anything is fine.”

“What about carrots? Isn’t that what rabbits like?” Zhi Xiang opened the door and got into the driver's seat. He was pulling his seatbelt over him when he noticed Yixing staring at the door.

‘He must not know how to get in’ he thought. With a sigh he exited the car and walked around to open the door for Yixing. The rabbit hybrid didn’t move. When Zhi Xiang gave him a questioning look he muttered, “I am not a rabbit.” With a small frown he brushed past Zhi Xiang and got into the passenger's seat. Yet again the teacher felt an intense sense of guilt for offending Yixing.

Once they were on the road all was quiet, except the low noise from the radio. Zhi Xiang’s apartment was fairly close to school, about five miles which given the size of the city was not that far. Traffic could be bad during the evening, so the commute usually took him at least a half an hour even on a good day.

He usually listened to talk radio, a habit he picked up from his father. A few times during the drive, when the van was at a red light, stuck in traffic with nothing but commercials on the radio, he stole a glance at the hybrid.

Yixing stared out the window, Zhi Xiang catching a glimpse of his face in the side mirror. He looked a bit sad, or maybe rabbit hybrids just looked like that. His nose twitched back and forth here and there, one of his white ears was flopped over like he had lost the energy to keep it upright. His eyes scanned the city outside of the minivan, but he didn't seem to be particularly interested in looking at any one thing.

It finally occurred to the teacher that he looked lost. Not sad but lost.

In some way it was a comfort to know they were both feeling the same way.

 

 

 

Zhi Xiang unlocked the apartment door in the same silence that had accompanied their car ride. He glanced back at Yixing, who promptly took a step back and froze at the unexpected inspection.

Zhi Xiang turned back around, allowing the rabbit hybrid to relax as the door was opened. “It isn’t much but it is somewhere to sleep.”

The hybrid looked to be hesitant to enter. In the end Zhi Xiang had to all but pull him into the apartment, no longer comfortable with having his apartment door wide open and a hybrid (and all the associated connotations) standing outside - it was the perfect fodder for his nosey neighbors.

Once Yixing was through the door the third grade teacher promptly shut it and locked it. “This is the living room. “ He turned and gestured towards his cramped and slightly messy abode. It wasn’t the worst apartment he could have, nor was it the most cramped it had ever been, but at the same time it was far from spacious and short on luxuries. “The kitchen is in there,” he pointed towards the doorway against the far wall. “And down there is the bathroom and bedroom,” he gestured towards the dark doorway that led to a small bathroom and small bedroom.

He wasted no time in going about his routine, partially because he wasn’t quite sure what to do otherwise. While he supposed, after thinking about it later, that he should have spent time with YIxing and acclimated him to his new surroundings, Zhi Xiang’s stomach said otherwise. He had shared half his lunch with the hybrid, after all. He was starving.

He walked to the kitchen and flicked on a light before digging around in one of the lower cupboards for a pot. His culinary skills were far from excellent, and given his state of hunger he went straight for the instant noodles. Twenty minutes later he carried the steaming pot of noodles out to the living room, ready to sit in front of the television and stuff his face.

He had expected to find Yixing curled up on the couch or maybe on the floor - whatever it was a rabbit hybrid did to get comfortable. Instead he found Yixing standing in the middle of the room, frozen, eyes darting around. This again, he thought as he set the pot down on the table.

“What is wrong?”

“What?!” Yixing startled, his voice coming out as a squeek.

“Sit. I made food.” Zhi Xiang pointed at the pot.

Yixing didn’t move.

“Fine, suit yourself.” Zhi Xiang plopped down on the floor and began to stir the pot of noodles. He flicked on the television but found it extremely hard to concentrate with Yixing standing five feet away, looking like he was ready to bolt at the smallest provocation.

“Can you sit down?” Zhi Xiang barked, then instantly felt bad when Yixing’s mouth formed a deep frown. “Please. Sit down please,” he corrected himself.

Yixing remained motionless.

“Look, I am not sure why you are upset but you are safe here. Just a place to stay for the night, okay? You don’t need to worry about messing anything up or making me angry or anything, ok.”

Finally the hybrid spoke, though his question was little higher than a whisper. “W-what is a class pet expected to do?” He looked afraid as he asked.

With that question it dawned on the teacher that perhaps Yixing thought he was expected to do something he didn’t want to do, perhaps something that other hybrids were expected to do. He needed to dismiss that notion at once. “Class pets are expected to sit during class and not distract, but to also help students learn. And at night they are expected to follow the teacher home and stuff their face with noodles and fall asleep wherever they want and not um, worry about anything else like um..doing things with humans they might not want to do.” Zhi Xiang smiled, hoping the hybrid would believe him. In some ways he felt like he was talking to one of his students, nervous because of their latest math score.

“Really?” Yixing smiled brightly.

“Yep, now sit.” Zhi Xiang patted the space next to him. When the hybrid practically bounded over to sit next to him, he couldn’t help but genuinely laugh.

After watching Yixing stuff his face and then promptly climb onto the couch and curl up, falling asleep in a matter of minutes, Zhi Xiang realized a few things. Like how the hybrid didn’t have pajamas, and the fact he hadn’t fetched extra blankets from Wang Xun yet.

“Honglei did not find a class pet, he found  me a responsibility.” Zhi Xiang muttered to himself as he turned off the lights and retreated to his room. Yet as he thought about the sleeping hybrid, curled up after his moment of panic when he arrived, Zhi Xiang couldn't find the energy to be mad about it.

 

 

 

He had thought long and hard on the drive to school on how he would integrate Yixing into the classroom and avoid a repeat of the distraction that happened yesterday. His long and hard thoughts were routinely interrupted, however, by the rabbit hybrid’s rumbling stomach.

“You should have eaten,” Zhi Xiang glanced at the passenger seat, still confused why the hybrid refused food that morning. Yixing had been difficult to wake up, only managing to drag himself off the couch ten minutes before they had to leave. After a quick splash of water on his face and the refusal of food he had sleepily followed Zhi Xiang to the car.

“I am not hungry,” Yixing responded, staring out the window.

Zhi Xiang sighed. He had a feeling that Yixing’s refusal of breakfast would end up in sharing his lunch yet again. At least he had the foresight to pack extra that day (though a trip to the grocery store was most definitely in order).

When they arrived at school Yixing wordlessly followed Zhi Xiang into the classroom. Without a solid plan on what to do with Yixing when it came to making him a useful class pet, Zhi Xiang set about getting the rest of the day’s lessons in order. Yixing repeated what he had done the previous day, standing near the center of the room and watching as the teacher organized his teaching aids.

“Today, will I get to help?” Yixing asked, taking Zhi Xiang by surprise.

“You want to help?” He hadn’t thought the hybrid wanted to do anything but shrink away in the corner of the classroom, afraid he would cause a disturbance and get in trouble. While he had been racking his brain on how best to utilize Yixing he hadn’t expected Yixing to be thinking about the same.

“I am the class pet. Isn’t that what a class pet does?” Yixing shrugged.

Zhi Xiang recalled not twelve hours ago Yixing asking what was expected of a class pet, now he was apparently well versed in the role. Yixing was forever surprising him.

“Well, I would like you to help but I don’t know how. Usually class pets are small and um - useful in learning about biology and the like. Responsibility, how to care for an animal, that sort of thing.”

“Oh.” That downtrodden voice.

“I mean, you can’t exactly be picked up by every student nor can you be used as an example of watching an animal grow from its young form to its adult form.”

“Oh.” So glum.

“I can’t send you home with the children so they learn responsibility, and on top of that you don't really need to be watched closely during class so the responsibility thing is out the window entirely.”

“Hmmm.” Yixing sounded so sad. “So there isn’t anything I can do?”

Zhi Xiang sighed. He wished he could think of one thing, at least one thing to ask of Yixing. He looked at the hybrid, noticing that one of his ears was again flopped over. He wondered if this was his standard sad stance, if his ears somehow reacted to his mood.

“So I am the worst class pet imaginable?” Yixing stared down at the floor.

“No! I- well - what is there that you can do?” Zhi Xiang leaned back in his chair, watching the hybrid. Yixing had moved closer to the teacher’s desk as they conversed, watching Zhi Xiang as he took out his curriculum binder and set his desk up for the day.

“I can, um…” Yixing looked thoughtful. HIs ear, the one that had been flopped over, twitched to life a bit as his nose wrinkled. When he remained silent for about a minute Zhi Xiang spoke.

“Is there anything anyone ever said you were really good at? Perhaps something you could teach the children?”

“Oh! I know!” Yixing jumped up and down a few times. “I can draw!”

“You can draw?” Why was he doubting him? He supposed his suspicion was born of thinking of a rabbit, the furry little animals, having such a talent. He had to remind himself he wasn't looking at an animal.

“Yep! My littermates were always so jealous because I could draw from an early age.”

“Show me.” Zhi Xiang walked to the chalkboard and grabbed a piece of yellow chalk off of the ledge, beckoning for Yixing to approach. The hybrid was bashful as he did so, taking the chalk from the teacher’s hand.

Zhi Xiang watched as Yixing first drew a circle, a slow process that had him looking over his shoulder a few times like he sought approval to keep going. Zhi Xiang flashed a thumbs up and pretty soon Yixing was picking up his pace, sketching with chalk a beautiful scene of a meadow, small rabits frolikcing, birds in the sky and….

“Is that a pig?” It certainly looked like one, frolking in the meadow near the group of rabbits.

Yixing looked over his shoulder. His face was tinged with pink as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and nodded.

“Why is there a pig in the meadow?”

“It is you.” Yixing turned back to the chalkboard and laughed. It was the first time Zhi Xiang had heard him laugh and the sound was...physically pleasing. As in it made his chest tighten in the most curious way.

“Why am I a pig?” he asked, wanting very much to forget about how Yixing’s laugh was making him feel.

“You kind of look like one.” Yixing laughed again.

Zhi Xiang was about to launch into a round of protests (because he most certainly did not resemble a pig) but the first student arrived. Yixing stepped away from the chalkboard when the child ran to him, obviously embarrassed.

“Yixing! Hello!” The boy waved to him. “Did you do that?” he pointed towards the drawing.

“Yes. He is your new art teacher.” Zhi Xiang announced to the boy, feeling proud that even though they had only known each other a short time he had finally made the hybrid smile. Yixing was smiling ear to ear, quite literally, as the tips of his ears flopped over his face and covered his wide smile.

“Really?” he asked shyly.

Zhi Xiang gave him another thumbs up.

 

 

 

It turned out that Yixing excelled when put in front of the class and tasked with teaching, his bashfulness disappearing when he was given a purpose. The children paid attention as well, which had surprised Zhi Xiang and quite honestly had made him a bit jealous. While for the most part they were well behaved, he had his fair share of students who ignored him or stared at him in obvious boredom at times. With Yixing they were transfixed, listening carefully to his every word.

When Yixing’s art class was complete he took a seat in the corner near Zhi Xiang’s desk, sitting patiently while the teacher completed the class. When the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day, Zhi Xiang couldn’t have been happier at how it had went. Perhaps having Yixing around wasn’t a burden as much as it was an asset. A normal class pet could never teach part of a class like Yixing had, much less get such a response out students while helping them learn.

As the students filtered out of the classroom a few hung back, the usual kids who had to wait for their parents to pick them up as opposed to taking the bus or walking home. Of course they rushed towards Yixing, the novelty of the class’s new addition still fresh.

Zhi Xiang went about his usual routine after school, not paying the students or Yixing much mind as he wiped the chalkboard and straightened the classroom. He heard when one of the student's mothers arrived  because the child greeted her loudly. He turned from where he was straightening up at the back of the classroom just in time to see the woman yank her child away from where she had been standing and conversing with Yixing.

“Get away!” The woman screamed.

Zhi Xiang rushed towards the confrontation, cursing himself for not having thought that this may happen. He had been expecting complaints, hadn’t he? Yet with the way the day had gone, so seamless and oddly trouble free, he had forgotten all about the lingering reservation he had over the arrangement.

“Get this filthy thing away from my daughter!” The little girl was crying and tugging on her mom's coat while the woman stared Yixing down. “You disgusting-”

“That is enough!” Zhi Xiang interjected, stepping in between the angry parent and the hybrid.

“How dare you let my child sit in the same room as this, this THIS THING.” She pointed at Yixing, who promptly frowned and looked away. “I hadn’t believed her when she told me but it is true after all. What sort of school are you running?” She turned her anger towards Zhi Xiang this time.

“Ma’am I fail to see why you are upset. Yixing hasn’t done anything wrong and he isn’t by any means disgusting.” Zhi Xiang felt the anger rising in him at the woman’s misconception - the same misconception he had blurted out the day before. Yet he knew in his short time with Yixing it couldn't be further from the truth. The hybrid was far from some salacious creature meant for one thing only. Yixing was kind, shy, a bit absurd at times, but definitely nothing to fear or look at in disgust.

“He is a hybrid!” she hissed.

“Yes, and you are a rude woman but I even give you a chance so I fail to see what your problem is.” Zhi Xiang blinked at the woman.

“Wait until I talk to the principal about this!” she cried out.

“He is the one who picked Yixing out.” Zhi Xiang smiled.

She paled. “I am calling the school board! Don't think I am letting my daughter come to school as long as you have that thing in here.”

She grabbed her crying daughter by the hand and dragged her from the classroom. The few remaining students looked afraid as they watched their classmate go. Zhi Xiang should have rightfully said something to calm them but his mind was occupied by the way Yixing turned away, completely dejected. His shoulders and ears slumped simultaneously.

“Don’t listen to her, please.” Zhi Xiang reached out and grasped Yixing’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He turned Yixing to face him but the hybrid wouldn’t look him in the eyes. “Please, don’t listen to what she said, she is wrong.”

Yixing nodded.

Zhi Xiang let go, turning towards the worried students. He tried to dismiss their worries as best as he could, relieved when their parents showed up and the incident wasn’t repeated.

On the ride home Yixing remained quiet, his ears flopped over as he stared out the window. When Zhi Xiang deviated from the route that took him directly home, Yixing turned to him in alarm.

“We need to get some food plus you need more clothes,” the teacher explained, unnerved by how frightened Yixing looked.

“Oh.” Yixing went back to staring out the window.

Zhi Xiang hoped that at some point he would open up to him, tell him what he was afraid of without having to prod for details. But they had only known each other for two days, plus the arrangement was bizarre to say the least. No wonder Yixing didn’t trust him yet.

When they got to the store - a department and grocery store in one - Yixing followed dutifully behind Zhi Xiang without making a fuss. He let the man hold up clothes and drop them in the cart, giving one word answers when he was asked if he liked a particular thing. His ears were permanently flopped over and his frown was constant.

When they arrived back at Zhi Xiang’s apartment the teacher was bordering on shaking the hybrid a few times until he talked to him - but he didn’t want to make the situation worse. Of course Yixing would be upset after being called disgusting, it was natural. Yet Zhi Xiang wanted him to say it, to say why he felt sad, to ask questions, maybe to look for comfort.

“Two days and I am going crazy,” Zhi Xiang mused as he put the groceries away. Two days with the hybrid and he was already desperate to be in his trust, to see him smile. Was this why people kept hybrids? They were easy to connect with on some levels but forever a mystery on others. A pretty puzzle waiting to be completed.

Whatever the reason for their attractiveness they most certainly had a bad perception among the populous. Zhi Xiang cringed when he remembered what the woman had said a few hours before. When he finished putting away the groceries he started preparing dinner, leaving a pot of soup to boil on the stove as he went to check on Yixing.

The hybrid was sitting on the couch, his feet curled up under him. He was sunken into the cushion and looked to be somewhere near sleep. When he heard Zhi Xiang enter the room he opened his eyes and blinked rapidly.

“Were you sleeping?” Zhi Xiang sat on the opposite end of the couch, trying not to disturb the hybrid’s rest.

“No.” Yixing rubbed his eyes. His ears were still flopped over.

“Dinner will be done in a little while. I put your clothes over there,” Zhi Xiang pointed towards a storage container he had picked up at the store. “You probably need a shower or bath.”

Yixing nodded. He got up from the couch and walked over to his clothes.

“By the way, you um - you did a great job today in class.” Zhi Xiang had forgotten to praise him for it, which he most certainly needed to do. Yixing was a natural when it came to teaching.

“I did?” Yixing flashed his bashful expression, putting his hand to his face to hide his shyness.

“Yes, you did.”

The timer on the microwave started beeping, Zhi Xiang’s tried and true method of keeping track of how long things should cook. He went to take the pot off of the stove when Yixing stopped him with a gentle grasp on his arm.

“Why did you stand up for me today?”

“What?” Zhi Xiang furrowed his brow.

“With that woman, why did you stand up for me?”

“Oh,” Zhi Xiang smiled. “Why wouldn’t I stand up for you? You are a nice person and you haven’t done anything wrong.”

One ear, than the other suddenly perked up as Yixing grinned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now I better get the soup before it burns.” Zhi Xiang walked into the kitchen with a feeling of satisfaction and a huge grin plastered on his face. He felt like he had just won the lottery.

“I really am losing it,” he smiled into the soup, feeling far more joy than he probably should have.


	2. Part 2

The next day class went smoothly, aside from a  very noticeable absence. Yixing shot Zhi Xiang a worried look and the teacher tried to appear reassuring. There was nothing they could do if the mother wasn’t going to send her daughter to school. In the afternoon Honglei stopped by the classroom during break and gave Yixing a bit of a pep talk, winking at Zhi Xiang cryptically. The third grade teacher thought it was likely his way of showing that he would take care of whatever trouble the parent had caused, that or he was just being creepy. Sometimes it was difficult to tell with Honglei.  
  
When the classroom was vacated for the evening, Zhi Xiang grabbed his bag and prepared to leave. Yixing had been helping to straighten the classroom, something he did without even being asked. Zhi Xiang looked over to see him staring out the window.  
  
He hasn’t been outside in a few days, not for long anyway, Zi Xiang realized. He wasn’t entirely sure that Yixing like the outdoors, but the way he was staring out the window told him there was a good chance that he did.  
  
“Yixing, we don't have to go right home tonight.” Zhi Xiang announced. The hybrid turned to give him a questioning look.  
  
He didn’t explain what he meant, and Yixing didn’t ask him outright. Once they were in the van, Zhi Xiang headed for the large park that was only a few minutes drive away. When he stopped the car Yixing’s ears perked up as his nose twitched.  
  
“I thought we could go for a walk, maybe get some ice cream,” Zhi Xiang offered, opening the door and alighting the vehicle.  
  
Yixing seemed taken with the idea, jumping out of the vehicle faster than Zhi Xiang had ever seen him do it before.  
  
They walked in silence for awhile, enjoying the fresh air and warmer temperatures that had come with the spring. The park was near a small lake, a winding paved path running alongside the water. It was a peaceful place, a nice change from a noisy classroom.  
  
“They sell ice cream over there,” Zhi Xiang pointed towards a small pavilion. “Do you like ice cream?”  
  
Yixing nodded. The teacher was happy to see his ears were firmly erect and his eyes were bright.  
  
They walked over to the pavilion, encountering a family playing on the nearby playground equipment as they passed. When the father spotted Yixing he very deliberately called for his children, trying to get them as far away from the hybrid as possible.  
  
Zhi Xiang was annoyed with the behavior. He gritted his teeth and held it in, though he desperately wanted to say something. Yet when he looked at Yixing the hybrid didn’t appear to be sad, not like he had the day before.  
  
The teacher was thankful that at least the person working the ice cream stand was nice, giving both of them a smile as she handed out their vanilla cones. They walked towards a picnic table that sat under a grouping of trees. The perfect place to enjoy their ice cream.  
  
“Why did you become a teacher?” Yixing asked as he lickd around the cone, trying to keep the melting ice cream from dripping on his clothing.  
  
Zhi Xiang was surprised Yixing wanted to know such a thing. It was the first time the hybrid had inquired about him. “Ah, I am bad at everything else,” he joked. “I  don’t know, I like having the opportunity to make a difference in kids’ lives. I had a really good teacher when I was younger and I still remember her, she was my inspiration.”  
  
“You are a great teacher.” Yixing ended up sticking the whole mound of ice cream in his mouth and biting it off, frustrated with the fast melting dessert.  
  
“Thanks.” Suddenly Zhi Xiang felt a bit shy. He cleared his throat and tried to change the subject, taking one long lick of his cone before saying, “In two days it will be Friday, so that means the weekend is coming. Is there anything you want to do this weekend?”  
  
“Do?” Yixing blinked a few times.  
  
“Yes, as in go somewhere, or something around the house?”  
  
The hybrid looked thoughtful, finally answering. “I think I would rather be at home. When I go out people tend to…” he trailed off, not saying it. People tend to stare.  
  
“Do you know why they stare?” Zhi Xiang was curious just how much did Yixing know about his own kind. How much did his breeder, who apparently was not someone who bred hybrids for the usual purposes, tell him of his fellow hybrids?  
  
Yixing nodded. “I know that other hybrids, a while ago and even now are used for um...they aren’t pets really, not like I am.” He blushed and looked away.  
  
“No, wrong.” Zhi Xiang tried to look serious.  
  
“Wrong?” Yixing’s voice climbed a few registers as he asked. “How am I wrong?”  
  
“They stare because you are so cute.” Zhi Xiang smiled. And then he realized what he had just said. He had never been a sentimental guy. Never been sappy or overly affectionate even with past girlfriends. And he had just all but flirted with a rabbit hybrid. What was wrong with him?  
  
Yixing looked down and blushed, the sight causing Zhi Xiang’s chest to tighten.  
  
There was something most definitely wrong with him, Zhi Xiang decided then and there, and it didn’t seem like it would be getting better anytime soon.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was a little after lunchtime a few days later when it happened. The children were sluggish from eating, as was Zhi Xiang. Yixing was hyper as always, standing in front of the class as he started that day’s art lesson. Zhi Xiang narrowed his eyes as Honglei walked through the door. The principal usually didn’t come into the classroom without notifying him first. When someone trailed behind him, Zhi Xiang wanted to groan.  
  
It was him. As in the superintendent of schools. As in the same person who Zhi Xiang had roomed with for a semester in college before he adamantly refused to ever do it again. The person who was the youngest superintendent the school system had ever had. The person who went from teacher to principal to administrator while Zhi Xiang was still getting acclimated to teaching. The overachiever.  
  
He looked smug as he locked eyes with Zhi Xiang, as if he was saying “Yes, you should still be jealous of me.”  
  
Yixing paused, looking a tad bit frightened as the principal and the stranger walked to the back of the classroom and stood. The children were clearly confused as well, looking back at the two men, unsure what to do.  
  
“Please, continue.” Honglei gestured for Yixing to resume the lesson.  
  
The hybrid was clearly nervous, stuttering as he tried to find his momentum. Zhi Xiang tried to ignore the principal and the superintendent, knowing that if he looked their way his expression would be less than pleasant. He had a feeling their visit most definitely had to do with the empty seat in his classroom and the threats of a certain parent a few days back.  
  
Yixing looked over at Zhi Xiang at one point, as though he needed some reassurance. The teacher gave him a warm smile, hoping that would make him feel better. While one of Yixing’s ears did flop over mid lesson, the other stayed upright until he completed teaching.  
  
When Yixing finished, Zi Xiang gave the children a recess period outside. “Can you watch them?” he asked Yixing, knowing full well that he needed to have a conversation with the superintendent. Yixing hesitated for a moment but agreed, shepherding the children out of the classroom.  
  
“And what brings you here?” Zhi Xiang folded his arms and tilted his head, giving the superintendent a scathing look. He couldn’t help it, his reaction was instinctive given their years of awful acquaintance.  
  
“I received a very serious complaint about that new….” the superintendent looked like he was searching for the right word, looking towards the ceiling as he put his hand on his chin.  
  
“Class pet,” Honglei provided.  
  
“Yes, that’s it.” The superintendent pointed at Honglei. “Class pet. Now can you please tell me why you have a sex toy as a class pet and what it is doing teaching children?”  
  
“He is not a sex toy!” Zhi Xian fumed. “He is-”  
  
“Yixing is a licensed teacher, and in fact comes highly recommended.” Honglei cut Zi Xiang off before he could say everything he wanted to, getting himself fired in the process. The principal pulled a folder out of his suit pocket and handed it over to the superintendent. The man opened the folder and began scanning the documents contained within.  
  
“He is a teacher?”  
  
Zhi Xiang widened his eyes. No, Yixing wasn’t a teacher though he did have a knack for it. Honglei must have falsified the documents to make it seem like that so the superintendent would go away.  
  
“I didn’t even know that they let hybrids into the teaching school there.” The superintendent was amazed.  
  
“Yes, they do. Because hybrids aren’t what you think they are. Sir, I hate to say this because I have the utmost respect for you,” Honglei put his hand over his heart for emphasis, “But I think that you may want to learn more about hybrids and what they are like. Yixing is less a class pet and more of a teacher, he is certified after all. I know you received a complaint but I can assure you that the complaint was based on prejudices and not on actual events.”  
  
“Well….he was a rather good teacher.” The superintendent considered.  
  
Zhi Xiang watched him, waiting for him to say something else - to tell him Yixing had to go or to deny that the hybrid could return to the classroom. Instead he was completely surprised.  
  
“He can stay for now, but I need to think on this.” The superintendent snapped the folder shut and tucked it under his arm. “Good day.”  
  
Zhi Xiang watched him go, Honglei trailing after him. He couldn't wait until he could ask Honglei how he had falsified a teaching license and in what way shape or form he thought it was an acceptable thing to do. Not that Zhi Xiang was complaining if it saved Yixing from being sent elsewhere.  
  
Honglei returned to the classroom before the children, long enough to tell Zhi Xiang that he was pretty sure the superintendent would not kick Yixing out.  
  
“How did you falsify those documents?” Zhi Xiang pried, wanting to know.  
  
“I didn’t. They are real,” Honglei replied, whistling as he walked out the door at the same time a stream of children were filing in. Zhi Xiang’s jaw dropped. Real? As in Yixing was a certified teacher?!  
  
Later that afternoon, after school was done for the day Zhi Xiang cornered Yixing about it.  
  
“Yes, I got in on a special scholarship. I knew it would be nearly impossible for me to get a job in the field but I still wanted to go school. Education is important. I never would have a chance to teach but I really wanted to learn, it interested me. I am not good at it, but I tried.”  
  
“And you just forgot to tell me this?” Zhi Xiang was still reeling from the surprise. Hadn’t he only days ago asked Yixing what he was good at and gotten rather dull answers until it came to art.  
  
“You never asked.” Yixing smiled sheepishly, earning a smile from the third grade teacher.  
  
“That is true, I never did,” Zhi Xiang admitted, laughing.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A few days later the missing student returned to school, dropped off by her dad who gave both Yixing and Zhi Xiang an apologetic look. It was enough for them to feel safe.  
  
They fell into an easy routine, teaching together, going home together, spending all their free time together…okay, so Zhi Xiang might have started to be harassed by his college friends over his lack of appearances at their parties and get togethers.  
  
“I am busy,” he would say, never stating exactly what he was busy with. And it wasn't that he didn't like hanging out with them, he did. But there was something about walking around the park, or going to see a movie, or just hanging out at home with Yixing that always seems to be the better choice. In the back of his mind he began to get an inclination the was becoming what some people called domestic, but he ignored that possibility. He wasn’t domestic, he was just taking care of the pet he was entrusted with. The pet with the ears that flopped over when he was sad. The pet with the nice smile. The pet who, as the temperature increased with each week, the long march towards summer coming to an end, slept in less and less clothing.  
  
Finally one Saturday Yixing insisted that Zhi Xiang go to the golf outing he had been invited to.  
  
“But what will you do?” the teacher asked, biting his lip as he started to worry.  
  
“Sleep,” Yixing answered, flopping down on the couch.  
  
Zhi Xiang tried to protest but Yixing all but shoved him out the door, telling him to have fun.  
  
An hour later Zhi Xiang found himself in a sports bar and grill, sipping an imported beer while football played on the numerous flat screens that canvassed the place.  
  
“It is nice to see you, thought you had gotten yourself a new group of friends,” his old college friend tossed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and chewed with an open mouth, eying up Zhi Xiang.  
  
“Ha, no. I have just been busy.” Zhi Xiang didn’t feel like telling them with what. He had seen enough of people’s reactions to Yixing over the last weeks to know that the majority of people were not open minded enough to respond appropriately. Not to mention his friends were all horny bastards that would make the most inappropriate of comments, no doubt.  
  
“With the bunny?” A jab to his ribs and the greasiest of winks told Zhi Xiang everything he needed to know – which was that everyone knew. He choked on his beer as he realized his secret was out.  
  
“Hey, heard you got yourself a hybrid, you sly bastard.” Another one of his friends walked up, raising his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
“How did-”  
  
When one of his friends blurted out the name of the school superintendent, Zhi Xiang flinched. Of course he would tell everyone. He had every reason to, they practically loathed each other. The only nice thing Zhi Xiang could say about him was that he hadn’t kicked Yixing out of school.  
  
“Is it true what they say – that rabbit hybrids are the most,” his friend winked in quick succession, “of hybrids?”  
  
By this time Zhi Xiang was sputtering, protesting any such thing as his friend’s teased him unmercifully. He gathered from what they were saying that rabbit hybrids had quite the reputation for certain behavior, behavior that Yixing had never once displayed.  
  
“I heard that they are insatiable.”  
  
“Hmm, yep that is what I heard too.”  
  
Zhi Xiang suddenly thought of an insatiable Yixing and his face turned bright red. “Let’s talk about something else!” He shouted before waving the waitress over quickly to add further distraction.  
  
The subject was dropped without Zhi Xiang confirming or denying what his friends insinuated. He had dodged a long and uncomfortable conversation, though the insinuations did have a lasting effect on him. As he called a taxi to take him home later that evening he couldn’t help but think of the words Insatiable and Yixing and found his cheeks growing warm yet again.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When Zhi Xiang arrived home he had anticipated Yixing would be passed out on the couch, sleeping in his favorite position as the television droned on as background noise. That wasn’t the case.  
  
His first inkling that something was wrong was the squish he felt when he took a step towards his bedroom. Looking down he gasped in horror at the carpeting – which was soaking wet.  
  
“Yixing!” He bellowed, squishing his way into the hall.  
  
Silence.  
  
“Yixing!” Zhi Xiang saw the light on in the bathroom, though the door was closed. He tried the handle but the door was locked. He banged on the door and yelled for the hybrid again, feeling a wave of panic when he didn’t get an answer.  
  
“Are you hurt?! Yixing, open the door!” He banged again, jiggling the doorknob back and forth as he pushed at the door.  
  
Zhi Xiang stepped back and then threw his weight into the bathroom door full force, thudding against the wood and then stepping back to do it again. He would break the door down if he had to.  
  
“DON’T COME IN!” It was Yixing.  
  
Zhi Xiang stopped. Narrowing his eyes he pressed his ear to the door and listened. Silence. “Yixing, is everything alright?”  
  
“YES, JUST DON’T COME IN.”  
  
“The why are the floors soaking wet?” Zhi Xiang pushed his big toe into the soggy carpet, grimacing when a good amount of water came up.  
  
Silence.  
  
“Yixing, why is our apartment flooded?”  
  
More silence.  
  
“Yixing I will break this door down if you don’t answer me!” Zhi Xiang yelled. He knew that Yixing was probably pouting, upset he was getting yelled at, but he couldn’t help it. Something was going on and that something had soaked the carpeting - which would probably cost him a small fortune to replace. On top of that Zhi Xiang was still nursing a small buzz from his time at the sports bar, inhibiting his ability to care if Yixing flashed a momentary frown. Right now he just wanted to know what in the hell was going on.  
  
He was about to throw himself back against the door when it cracked open slowly, leaving him with his weight rocked back on one foot and his wrist firmly held in the other hand, ready to throw himself into the obstruction. He relaxed his stance and crept towards the door, slowly pushing it open.  
  
At least half an inch of water covered the floor. The bathtub was full, water was still dripping over the sides. A large inflatable swimming pool float was half in and half out of the bath. All of which was shocking enough given the chaos of the scene.  But suddenly Zhi Xiang wasn’t as concerned with an overflowing bathtub and a pool toy. Not when Yixing was standing with his head down, ears flopped over, swim trunks on, and the complete and total lack of a shirt. A lack of a shirt revealing very well defined muscles - muscles that Zhi Xiang had no idea how the hybrid had time to define. Because were they ever defined.  
  
Suddenly his mouth felt dry.  
  
“I...I’m sorry,” Yixing wouldn’t look at him, his attention fully focused on the wet floor.  
  
“You- what?” Zhi Xiang tore his eyes away from the hybrid, looking past him to the bathtub.  
  
“I saw it on tv and I thought I could try it here but the water kept overflowing and…”  
  
“Uh …” Okay, so he wasn’t successfully looking away for long. He was back to staring, appreciating the way Yixing’s hips peeked out from his swim trunks. How he could see the definition of - “GO GET DRESSED I CAN CLEAN IT UP!” Zhi Xiang slapped his left hand over his eyes and shooed Yixing out of the room with his left.  
  
“I really am terribly sorry,” Yixing repeated.  
  
“I forgive you!” Zhi Xiang confirmed. He would forgive the hybrid of anything if that meant his shirtless and very attractive body was soon out of his sight.  
  
Yixing scurried out of the room without making eye contact, the pitter patter of his steps reinforcing just how wet the tile floor was. Zhi Xiang dragged his hand through his hair once he was alone in the bathroom. The place was a mess, though besides the carpeting nothing looked abjectly ruined. Except for him. Something inside him was ruined, or at least on the verge of it.  
  
He cursed under his breath as he began the cleanup – cursed at his college friends and their comments, at Yixing and his body at – “WHY ME?!” he cried out, looking towards the sky and holding his arms wide open in the most dramatic pose imaginable.  
  
  
  
  
  
“Probably your punishment or something,” Wang Xun answered.  
  
Zhi Xiang had left his bathroom-cleaning sulking behind, two weeks having passed since he bemoaned his misfortune. Two weeks of blasting his air conditioning in an effort to thwart Yixing’s love of sleeping in only shorts or a t-shirt.  
  
Yixing had questioned the teacher’s new love for ice cold temperatures, but accepted the excuse that as the days got hotter, Zhi Xiang wanted to be colder. The hybrid shrugged and went along with it.  And while Zhi Xiang still caught himself staring at times, and the word insatiable popped into his head now and then, he wasn’t currently whining about his unacknowledged lust. No, he had a new problem. His new problem still involved Yixing, though albeit a fully clothed Yixing.  A fully clothed, moping Yixing. Maybe the extreme air conditioning was getting to him after all?  
  
“My punishment?” Zhi Xiang was slumped over the table in the teacher’s lounge, his favorite posture when he wanted to whine.  
  
“Yeah, I mean, you have a hybrid teaching half your class now. Are you sharing your salary with him? He is probably depressed because he feels used.” Wang Xun sipped on his soda, giving Zhi Xiang a halfhearted look of pity.  
  
“No, it isn’t that.” Yixing had never brought up money. He seemed content with what he had, plus Zhi Xiang was buying all of his food, giving him a place to live, and paying for everything else he asked for. If anything Honglei should be paying Zhi Xiang more for boarding the hybrid, but he knew that would never fly (he could hear the principal saying “You asked for it” in his mind).  
  
No, it wasn’t money. And honestly Yixing didn’t seem to mind the cold apartment. What it was, however, Zhi Xiang wasn’t sure. A few days ago he had started to notice that Yixing was smiling less. The day before he had seen the hybrid downright depressed, frowning most of the day even when one of his favorite students brought him an apple. Something was wrong and it was driving Zhi Xiang mad.  
  
Minseok walked into the teacher’s lounge, not bothering to pay the distraught third grade teacher any mind as he went for a snack in the fridge.  
  
“Minseok,” Wang Xun dragged the kindergarten teacher into the conversation, “Yixing is depressed.”  
  
Minseok grabbed a sandwich out of the fridge and sat down across from Zhi Xiang. “Depressed?”  
  
It was no secret that over the last couple months the entire faculty of the school had developed a soft spot for the hybrid. Sometimes after class he would wander down to the kindergarten room and help Minseok clean, telling Zhi Xiang he needed a change of pace. The two had grown close over that time with Minseok even buying Yixing a t-shirt that he thought would look nice on him.  
  
“Yes, as in sad.”  Zhi Xiang flailed his arm against the table, kicking his feet on the floor in the most mature action possible.  
  
“Did you ask him why?” Minseok took a bite of his sandwich.  
  
“Yeah, he won’t say anything.” Zhi Xiang had asked that morning when Yixing had refused to get out of bed until the absolute last minute, even then moving slowly with a perma-frown on his face. “He said nothing was wrong.”  
  
“Could it be the end of the school year?” Minseok suggested.  
  
It was a few days until classes would let out for the summer, a three month vacation for the students and a bit shorter of a vacation for the teachers who hadn’t elected to teach summer school. “The end of the school year?” Zhi Xiang hadn’t considered that.  
  
“Yeah, I mean, maybe he is worried about the summer. Have you talked to him about what you are planning while you are off?” Minseok asked.  
  
Planning. Zhi Xiang’s summer plans were the same every year, be the laziest he possibly could be for the first two weeks then do a lot of hanging out and being slightly less lazy, followed by finally getting his motivation back when he set up for that autumn’s incoming class. There wasn’t anything to explain - he always just went with the flow ...in the least motivated of ways.  
  
“Ah, that could be it!” Wang Xun slapped his knee like it was an ah-ha moment. “He probably isn’t sure what will happen when school is over.”  
  
“You guys think so?” Zhi Xiang looked between his two co-workers.  
  
“I mean, it is worth a shot to bring it up to him.” Minseok shrugged.  
  
Without an explanation for Yixing’s sour mood, Zhi Xiang clung to this idea, hoping maybe that was it. He would talk to him at the end of the day, hopefully putting an end to his sad-fest.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
“Yixing, school is going to be over soon.” Zhi Xiang followed the hybrid as he cleaned up the art supplies from that afternoon’s class.  
  
“Hmmm.” It was little more than a grunt. Yixing’s ears were flopped over in his face, like they had been for the last three days. A speck of blue paint stained the tip of one ear, making the already depressed looking hybrid appear even more despondent.  
  
“Are you worried about what we will do during the summer? Because I have plans. I mean, I always…” Zhi Xiang scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Watch movies, and go to the beach and..” It was a lie, he never went to the beach but he thought perhaps that would make Yixing feel less insecure of what was to come.  
  
“Oh.” So mopey, so sad.  
  
“Is there anything you want to do this summer?”  
  
“No.” Yixing sighed.  
  
Zhi Xiang gritted his teeth. Clearly the summer wasn’t what was bothering him. Now if only he could find out what was.  “Listen, I know you are upset about something and I want you to tell me what it is. I am not going to listen to you say you are okay, because clearly you aren’t.”  
  
“I’m fine.” Yixing folded one of the aprons he used while teaching the class how to paint, touching it lightly as his bottom lip jutted out.  
  
“That is a lie!” Zhi Xiang slammed his hand down on the apron, causing the hybrid to jump back. In an instant he was in tears and running from the classroom.  
  
Zhi Xiang let out a groan of frustration as he gave chase, following the hybrid down the hall. When Yixing ducked into Minseok’s classroom he tried to follow.  
  
“I need to talk to Minseok alone!” Yixing shouted.  
  
Minseok, who had been sitting at his desk going over some paperwork, looked from Yixing to Zhi Xiang in confusion.  
  
“Maybe he will tell you what is wrong.” Zhi Xiang muttered, retreating from the classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
Zhi Xiang waited for Yixing for an hour before Minseok shot him a text and explained he would bring the hybrid home. The third grade teacher grabbed his bag and stalked to his van, feeling annoyed at the entire situation. When Yixing still wasn’t home by eight in the evening Zhi Xiang called Minseok’s cell and got a vague statement of ‘he is upset and wants to sleep over. Is that okay?’  
  
“Is it me?” Zhi Xiang asked, clutching the phone tightly to his ear. Had he done something to upset Yixing? He tried to think of anything he had said or done but came up blank. If he had upset the hybrid he was sorry for it, feeling pained to think he could cause someone who made him so happy to be so sad.  
  
“No. It isn’t you,” Minseok assured him before hanging up.  
  
Zhi Xiang had a hard time sleeping that night. Everything felt off without Yixing there. Suddenly he was nursing his own bout of depression.  
  
  
  
  
  
Yixing showed up to class the next day looking just as depressed as the day before, though he didn’t let it affect his teaching. At the end of the day he ran off to Minseok yet again, leaving Zhi Xiang puzzled and upset.  
  
Minseok shot him another round of texts. “I will tell you tomorrow, okay. Don’t worry.”  
  
Zhi Xiang could do nothing but worry.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next day marked the final day of school. It was supposed to be a fun day, full of games and memories. And for the most part it was, except that Yixing’s ears were still drooped over and he still frowned when no one was looking.  
  
Zhi Xiang finally had enough. He barged into Minseok’s classroom after he was done with his morning class. “What is it? You know, now tell me.”  
  
Minseok peeked over Zhi Xiang’s shoulder. When he was sure no one else was around he beckoned for the third grade teacher to lean in, and began whispering. “He…it’s his instinct.”  
  
“It’s his instinct to be depressed?!” Zhi Xiang blurted out, earning a reproving look from Minseok. He lowered his voice and whispered, “I mean, what does his instinct have to do with this?”  
  
“Rabbits are by nature um…” Minseok looked like he was struggling with what words to use.  
  
Zhi Xiang nudged him. “Just say it!”  
  
“He’s horny,” Minseok blurted out.  
  
“H-he w-wh – what?” Zhi Xiang’s mouth felt dry.  
  
“I was right that it had to do with the end of the school year, at least partially. Rabbits are known for having large litters multiple times a year, and one of the reasons for that is because their young are often defenseless, often don’t make it to maturity. You have to remember they are prey for so many other animals,” Minseok sighed.  
  
Zhi Xiang was confused. He gestured for Minseok to continue.  
  
“The rabbit side of him sees the end of the school year as a loss, like all his children are leaving and gone. His instinct tells him he needs to make new ones, to repopulate. So his body is telling him now is the time.”  
  
“Oh.” So Yixing was horny. So Yixing wanted to have a lot of sex and make babies. So Yixing…Zhi Xiang’s eyes widened. “OH.”  
  
“Yeah, he was embarrassed about it and didn’t know how to say anything. He only told me if I promised not to tell anyone, but clearly I broke that promise.” Minseok reached out and patted Zhi Xiang on the shoulder. “But I know you need to know so you can um...”  
  
“So I can what?!” Zhi Xiang asked, his heart rate increasing.  
  
“Well, I mean you seem to like him and-“  
  
“Lalalaalalaa I can’t hear you!” Zhi Xiang stuck his fingers in his ears, turned around and stalked out of the classroom, his mind a blur of rabbits and babies and naked Yixing begging him to fuck him harder and – Oh. He needed a drink. Too bad it was 1 PM on the last day of school.  
  
When he got back to the classroom he couldn’t look at Yixing. It was hard enough keeping his thoughts pure for the rest of the day. When the bell rang, signaling an end to the school year, he somehow managed to see all of his students off with a fond smile and a wave.  
  
In a greater feat of strength and willpower he managed to get himself in his van and drive off with Yixing in the passenger’s seat – not a glance at the hybrid or a word said. In an even more amazing turn of events he managed to stalk up to their apartment and wait until they were inside before he said anything.  
  
“Yixing, I know what is wrong.” He had debated coming right out and saying it, but he knew he couldn’t pretend like he didn’t know. While he had originally fought keeping his mind out of the gutter, his thoughts quickly turned towards other things. Like how he hated seeing Yixing sad. Like how he loved spending time with him – every day with him. How he never wanted to see Yixing uncomfortable around him. How, after all this time, perhaps he could finally admit that what he felt for the hybrid went beyond a close friendship. He was pretty sure he was in love.  
  
“What?” Yixing looked at Zhi Xiang in horror. “Minseok told you!”  
  
“Um, yeah.” Zhi Xiang reached out and grabbed Yixing’s arm, gently leading him over to the sofa. He was surprised that the hybrid didn’t try to run away. When they were seated, both staring at the wall and not at each other, Zhi Xiang elaborated. “Listen, I know you are probably embarrassed but you shouldn’t be. That is just, um, natural for um, for you.” He wanted to cringe at his words. How stupid he sounded.  
  
“Do you think I am disgusting?” Yixing asked quietly.  
  
“No. Never.” Zhi Xiang exhaled sharply. “I don’t think you are disgusting, not at all.” He turned to look at the hybrid. “In fact I think that you are as far away from disgusting as a person could be.” He smiled weakly.  
  
“Really?” One of Yixing’s ears twitched, like it was trying to stand up, to show that at least a sliver of his depression was gone. It made Zhi Xiang smile.  
  
“Yes, really.”  
  
“So does that mean we can have sex?!” Yixing asked brightly, both ears perking up immediately.  
  
“What?!” Zhi Xiang sputtered, taken aback. When one of the hybrid’s ears began to drop and the pout returned he panicked. “I – that, is sudden. I-“  
  
“You don’t like me like that?” Yixing asked, frowning.  
  
“No! I didn’t say that it is –“  
  
“Oh good, then you shouldn’t mind if we get to work. I have been so stressed about this and really I just need to let it out.”  
  
Zhi Xiang froze as the hybrid climbed onto his lap, caging him in with his arms. He looked expectantly at the teacher.  
  
Yixing. Insatiable. Breeding. On his lap.  
  
“You really want this?” Zhi Xiang swallowed, trying to control himself.  
  
“Yes.” Yixing shifted slightly, causing Zhi Xiang to suck in a deep breath as the hybrid ground down on his crotch.  
  
“Good.” Zhi Xiang wasn’t going to wait, wasn’t going to deny anything anymore. He pulled the hybrid in for a kiss, a sloppy mess that had Yixing opening his mouth wide as Zhi Xiang all but attacked him with his tongue. It was far from graceful but in some strange way it was fitting.  
  
Yixing began to bounce, grinding as they kissed. His eagerness was evident as he began to claw at Zhi Xiang’s clothes.  It was the most eager partner he had ever been with and Zhi Xiang felt pleasantly overwhelmed. He cupped Yixing’s backside and with a grunt lifted him off the couch. The hybrid squeaked out in fear and clung to the older man’s neck.  
  
“Bedroom,” Zhi Xiang explained. He staggered into his room, laying Yixing down as he climbed on top of him.  
  
If Yixing was overeager, Zhi Xiang was downright thirsty. He trailed and sucked Yixing’s jaw, then lower to his neck, his hands running over the hardness of the hybrid’s torso. Yixing made small noises of pleasure, high pitched sounds that Zhi Xiang had never heard him make before.  
  
Yixing grabbed for Zhi Xiang’s shirt, struggling to pull it over the other man’s head until he finally cooperated by detaching himself from the hybrid’s neck. Zhi Xiang leaned back, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down, boxers and all. He moved off the bed to completely divest himself of his clothes while Yixing stripped naked on the bed.  
  
“You are big.”  
  
Zhi Xiang wanted to laugh when he looked at the hybrid. Yixing, beautiful Yixing with the well-defined muscles, the upright ears, and the cute nose – was staring, mouth wide open, eyes trained on Zhi Xiang’s dick. “Can I touch it?” he asked cutely.  
  
How could he refuse? Zhi Xiang nodded, climbing back onto the bed and sitting on his knees. Yixing was still staring, apparently fascinated by the throbbing red cock.  
  
The hybrid climbed across the bed on his hands and knees then reached out hesitantly, like he was afraid something would happen. When his index finger met the hard flesh he looked up at Zhi Xiang, like the man would yell at him. Zhi Xiang sucked in his bottom lip and gave Yixing an approving look.  
  
“But mine is so small.” Yixing rocked back on his legs and gestured towards his own swollen cock. It wasn’t as big as Zhi Xiang’s but the older man thought it was beautiful. Hard and leaking pre-cum it was begging to be touched.  
  
“It is perfect.” Zhi Xiang didn’t want to spend time talking about their dick sizes. Not when Yixing was naked in front of him, cock hard, abs on full display. He moved forward, causing the hybrid to move back by default. When Yixing’s back hit the pillow Zhi Xiang climbed on top of him, capturing his mouth for another intense kiss.  
  
Later Zhi Xiang would think about how awkward their first time had been. How the questions, the strange pauses, and the weird looks were nothing like he would have imagined. Yet he decided it was probably the best sex he had ever had. Somehow this bizarre encounter was what he had always needed.  
  
“Lay down,” Yixing pushed at Zhi Xiang’s chest until the older man flopped down on his back.  
  
Yixing smiled down at him then proceeded to climb on top of him. Zhi Xiang reached for Yixing’s waist, thinking they would go back to sucking marks into each other’s skin. Instead Yixing positioned himself perfectly, sinking down on Zhi Xiang’s cock and fully seating himself in the blink of an eye.  
  
Zhi Xiang cried out, taken completely by surprise as his cock was sheathed in something tight and warm. And wet.  
  
“Did I hurt you?” Yixing asked, remaining motionless.  
  
“N-no.” Zhi Xiang answered. How in the- “You self-lubricate?”  
  
Yixing nodded and then smiled. And then he began to bounce in earnest. Zhi Xiang cried out and reached for Yixing’s hips. He held onto him as the hybrid bounced at a furious pace, moaning and crying out as he rode the older man into oblivion.  
  
Broken noises escaped Zhi Xiang’s mouth, strange sounds he had never made before. Fuck Yixing was tight. Fuck he was perfect.  
  
When the Hybrid began to slow down for a moment Zhi Xiang took the opportunity to grab him tightly then scoot up the bed, ending up in a seated position. Yixing wound his arms around the older man’s neck and picked up his pace again.  
  
Zhi Xiang reached out and cupped Yixing’s ass, squeezing and urging him to keep going. He bucked up, meeting the hybrid thrust for thrust.  When Yixing began to tense he knew he was close. Zhi Xiang moved his hand up to Yixing’s waist, dragging his fingers into his flesh as he touched higher, moving upwards right into-  
  
“You have a tail?!” Zhi Xiang blurted out as Yixing came, shooting his cum over the older man’s stomach. He clenched hard on Zhi Xiang’s dick, causing a chain reaction. In a matter of seconds Zhi Xing was coming too, gasping as he spilled his seed inside the hybrid’s tight ass.  
  
Yixing slumped forward, his ears flopped over, pressed against Zhi Xiang’s face. His breathing was heavy, matching Zhi Xiang’s ragged breath.  
  
“I have a tail,” Yixing said in between deep breaths.  
  
Zhi Xiang brushed his hand over Yixing’s backside again, earning a shiver from the hybrid as his hand met fur. A bunny tail, a ball of fluff.  
  
“Fuck that was amazing.” Zhi Xiang dragged his fingers through the soft fur, then patted Yixing’s behind.  
  
“Good, we should do it again.” Yixing lifted his head up and smiled, an angelic smile that took Zhi Xiang’s breath away.  
  
“Yes, we should.” Zhi Xiang meant it in relative terms.  
  
Yixing apparently meant right away. Zhi Xiang gasped as his softening dick was tugged when Yixing began to bounce slowly.  
  
It didn’t take more than ten seconds for his length to harden again and one look at Yixing told him he was ready for a second round.  
  
Now he understood what fucking like rabbits meant.  
  
  
  
  
  
**_Three months later_**  
  
“And please say hello to my co-teacher, Yixing.” Zhi Xiang stepped aside as Yixing took the spotlight, smiling brightly at the classroom of new students. He launched into his introduction, the shyness he had been burdened with months ago completely gone.  
  
It was the first day of a new school year, a classroom of thirty nine-year olds watching their two new teachers with a mixture of anxiety and boredom. It was another chance to make a difference in kid’s lives, and this year Zhi Xiang wouldn’t be doing it alone.  
  
Zhi Xiang looked forward to the next nine months, though he had to admit the prior three months were some of the most memorable of his life. Yixing was insatiable, and Zhi Xiang learned to be insatiable with him.  
  
Later that day, when class was over and they were hanging around the teacher’s lounge, Zhi Xiang asked something that had occurred to him earlier that week. “So now that we have a new class are your urges going to, you know? Since we have a class of students to teach again.”  
  
Yixing tilted his head and blinked. “No, I don’t know.”  
  
“You know what I mean. Are you no longer going to want to…?”  
  
“Want to what?” Yixing asked.  
  
“Fuck like rabbits?” Zhi Xiang blurted out.  
  
“Seriously, we are in a school need I remind you.”  
  
Yixing and Zhi Xiang turned around to see Honglei standing in the doorway. He clucked his tongue at them. “To think I agreed to start paying you,” he looked at Yixing. “And you,” and then to Zhi Xiang, “Are over budget this year so we have some things to talk about.”  
  
“Can’t you see I am busy?” Zhi Xiang answered, flashing a wicked smile at Yixing.  
  
The hybrid laughed, a lilting clear sound. A sound that, aside from the noises Yixing made in the bedroom, was the most beautiful thing that Zhi Xiang had ever heard.


End file.
